THE 2007 EXPEDITION

Context
Crete lies at the crossroads of European myth and history. The island was home to the Minoan culture, which reached its apogee during the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1425 B.C.). Named for the legendary King Minos who founded his capital at Knossos, the Minoans were the preeminent naval power of the early third millennium B.C.

For Homer, Crete was the island of ninety cities, some of the most ancient in Europe. The rich history of human activity on Crete may be measured by the thick remains of Neolithic settlements, Bronze Age palaces, Greek and Roman cities with their temples and sanctuaries, and the legacy of many more recent invaders: Arabs, Venetians and Turks.

Compared to the abundant archaeological remains on land, however, the material legacy of Crete's great seafaring heritage is barely beginning to be discovered. Indeed, the number of published shipwrecks found in shallower Cretan waters can be counted on one hand. What might we find in the depths beyond?

Archaeological and iconographical evidence from both the Aegean and Egypt indicates that ancient trading ships once sailed directly between Crete and Egypt. Greek and Roman period literary evidence—such as Acts 27: 1-20 and Lucian, Navigium 7-9—indicate that the island served as a nexus of north-south and east-west trade routes. The discovery of just one of these ancient merchantmen would have a profound impact on our knowledge of Crete's role in ancient seafaring.

Objectives
The 2007 expedition focused on bathymetric mapping of a defined survey area, followed by a systematic sidescan sonar survey along a hypothesized trade route between Crete and Egypt. Promising targets detected on the sidescan survey were later investigated by archaeologists using HCMR's two-person submersible Thetis and the ROV MaxRover.

The survey concentrated on the northern end of the projected trade route, in international waters some eighteen nautical miles south of Ierapetra (ancient Hierapytna) and as many nautical miles west of the islet of Gaideronisi (‘Donkey Island’ also known as Chrysi, ancient Chrysea). The Libyan Sea is a particularly challenging region for deepwater archaeological surveys. The sea off the southern coast of Crete is deep and geologically active, and the seabed continues to be contoured by violent tectonic forces as the African plate is subducted beneath the European plate. Fortunately, interspersed in this tortured seascape are plateaus that rise between 500 and 1000 meters (about 1,600 to 3,300 feet). These plateaus allow the use of sidescan sonar.

Results
During a 13-day cruise (21 JUN 07 – 03 JUL 07) the expedition mapped an extensive area for the first time with R/V Aegaeo’s multibeam sonar, then surveyed over 70 square kilometers of this area (250 linear kilometers) with a 100 kHz sidescan sonar.  Of the 140+ posible targets identified, 15 targets were subsequently visited using Thetis and MaxRover, and a number of additional targets of interest were discovered on these dives. The survey revealed nine ceramics including a Samian amphora.  All of the artifacts were photographed and left in situ.

Publications

Links

 


2007 Area 1 Lanes Surveyed


2007 Area 2 Lanes Surveyed

 


The submersible Thetis and the ROV MaxRover

 


ROV MaxRover Control